MULTIFUNCTIONAL POTENTIOMETRIC GAS SENSOR ARRAY WITH AN INTEGRATED TEMPERATURE CONTROL AND TEMPERATURE SENSORS

United States Patent Application

Embodiments of the subject invention relate to a gas sensor and method for sensing one or more gases. An embodiment incorporates an array of sensing electrodes maintained at similar or different temperatures, such that the sensitivity and species selectivity of the device can be fine tuned between different pairs of sensing electrodes. A specific embodiment pertains to a gas sensor array for monitoring combustion exhausts and/or chemical reaction byproducts. An embodiment of the subject device related to this invention operates at high temperatures and can withstand harsh chemical environments. Embodiments of the device are made on a single substrate. The devices can also be made on individual substrates and monitored individually as if they were part of an array on a single substrate. The device can incorporate sensing electrodes in the same environment, which allows the electrodes to be coplanar and, thus, keep manufacturing costs low. Embodiments of the device can provide improvements to sensitivity, selectivity, and signal interference via surface temperature control.

[0002] The subject invention was made with government support under a research project supported by the Department of Energy, Contract Nos. DE-FG26-02NT41533 and DE-FC26-03NT41614. The government has certain rights to this invention.